Car dumper



May 18, 1937. E. w. TAYLOR CAR DUMPER Filed Aug. 8. 1934 3 Sheets-Sheet l BY %l%l%wwaxz ATTORNEY.

May 18, 1937.

E. W. TAYLOR CAR DUMPER Filed Aug. 8, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEY.

May 18,1937. E. w. TAYLOR CAR DUMPER Filed Aug. 8, 1954 I5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. rue Q. 70 /02? ATTORNEY.

Patented May 18, 1937- UNITED STATES rarest oFFicE CAR DUMPER Application August 8, 1934, Serial No. 738,980

5 Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in car dumpers such as used in the handling of coal and other friable materials for commercial purposes, and more especially to means for retaining the material in the car as it is being tilted preparatory to dumping into an apron. and connecting chute for delivery to a storage receptacle, barge, or steamship.

One of the prime objects of the invention is to provide a curtain or cover over the top of the car to prevent the material being thrown by the tilting action of the car as it is swung up and over, thereby eliminating the production of fines and slack which has a limited sales value.

Another object is to provide a power actuated and controlled gate which closely fits the top of the car, so that the material can be confined therein until it has reached a tilting angle desired by the operator.

A further object is to provide power controlled means for limiting the movement of the material in the car as it is being tilted, and which can be operated to restrict and control the discharge opening as. desired, so that the material can be metered and caused to flow or slide in an even, steady stream, preventing large chunks from gathering inertia and crushing and breaking the material with which it comes in contact as it falls.

The above and other objects will appear as the specification progresses, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which I have shown the preferred embodiment of my invention, and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the several views thereof.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is an elevation of a car dumper showing a car raised to dumping position in the tower.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary top plan view of the curtain.

Fig. 3 is a sectional side view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional View taken on the line 4- of Fig. 2, the broken lines indicating the gate in open position.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary detail showing the rack, rack gear, and guide.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, the numeral it indicates a conventional car dumper tower which is provided with a cradle I i as usual, a pan or apron [2 being pivotally connected to the frame work of the tower at the point It, and a down spout i4 is attached to the end of the cradle for directing the material to a bin, boat, or other receptacle.

The cradle with a car thereon is adapted to be moved upwardly in the tower and at a certain elevation to be tilted to discharge the contents of the car in the conventional manner, and clamps 55 are provided over the top of the car it for rigidly securing it in position, these clamps being mounted in the tower in any desired manner, either being pivotally secured to the cradle at the point ll so that it swings over the car as shown in the accompanying drawings, or being mounted to move horizontally if desired. This is, however, immaterial, as these clampscan be mounted in any manner without affecting the operation of the curtain.

In the present installation these clamps are pivotally connected to the side wall of the cradle in spaced apart relation, and a plate or curtain I8 is secured thereto, said curtain being divided to clear the clamps and form gates I9 which are hingedly connected to the curtain l8 at the point 26, the outer edges of the gates being curved downwardly as at 2| so that they fit or lie in close proximity to the edge of the car, preventing discharge of the material until after the car has been tilted to desired position, and further confining and limiting the movement of the material in the car as it is being tilted.

While in the present instance I have shown the gates operated as a single unit, it will be evident that when necessary and desirable each gate may be separately actuated and controlled.

Longitudinally disposed beams 22 are mounted on the plate I8 in spaced apart relation, and cross members 23 span said beams, bearings 24 being mounted on said members, and a shaft 25 is journaled in said bearings. A motor base 26 is also mounted on the beams 22, and a reversible motor 21 is mounted thereon and is provided with a drive pinion 28 as usual, said pinion meshing with and driving a gear 29 which is mounted on a longitudinally disposed shaft 30, a gear 3! being mounted on the opposite end of said shaft, said gear meshing with and driving a gear 32 which is mounted on the shaft 25, so that when the motor is energized, the shaft 25 will be driven accordingly.

Yoke members 33 are journaled on the shaft 25 and include spaced apart bearings 34, a rack gear 35 being mounted on the shaft between the bearings of each yoke, each yoke accommodating and forming a guide for a toothed rack member 36 which meshes with the gear 35, the outer end of said rack being pivotally secured to the gate plates 31 by means of pins 38, and it will be 1 obvious that as the shaft 25 is driven, that the gears 35 which engage said racks, will actuate said gates and hold them in any adjusted or de- 5 sired position. 7

In practice the car is run onto the cradle II, and is then clamped in position thereon, the

cradle is then moved upwardly in the tower to a certain elevation and until the cradle pins l3 l engage in brackets 39 provided on the tower, and

the car is then tilted in the conventional man- 1 ner, the curtain l8 forming a closure for the open top of the car, the gates l9 remaining in closed position until the car has been tilted to the de- 15 sired angle of inclination; the motor 21 is then energized to drive the shaft 25, and the gates I! are swung open to permit the load to be discharged, the gate opening being positively controlled so that the material can be metered to 20 flow in a steady even stream, minimizing breakage and crushing, so that a minimum of fines and slack is produced. After the load has been discharged, the mechanism is reversed to lower the cradle, the empty car is removed, a loaded 25 car run onto the cradle, and the cycle is repeated.

As previously pointed out, these clamps can be mounted horizontally if desired, and when such construction is employed, the car moves into en- 30 gagement with the lamps as it is raised.

While I have described quite specifically the arrangement and operating mechanism of a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is not to be construed that I am limited thereto, since 35 various modifications and substitutions of equivalents may be made by those skilled in the art, without departing from the invention as defined in the appended claims. 7 W What I claim is: V 40 1. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in the tower and at a certain elevation to be tilted to dump the contents of the car, a substantially flat curtain closely fitting and forming a closure for the open top of the car, gates hingedly connected to said curtain, and power actuated means for controlling the opening and closing of said gates to retard and meter the car contents.

2. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly therein and at a certain elevation to be tilted to dump the contents thereof, clamps over the top of the car, a flat curtain closely fitting and forming a closure for the car, gates hingedly connected to the curtain, and power actuated means pivotally connected to said gates for positively controlling the opening and closing thereof to retard and meter the discharge of the car contents.

3. In a car dumper, a tower, a cradle adapted to carry a car upwardly in said tower and be tilted so as to dump the contents of the car, clamps disposed over the top of the car, a curtain secured thereto and forming a closure for the open top thereof, gates hingedly secured to the curtain and curved to closely fit the edge of the car, racks pivotally connected to said gates, and power actuated means for actuating said racks for positively controlling the degree of opening and/or closing of said gates to retard and meter the discharging material.

4. In a car dumper, the combination with a cradle adapted to support a car thereon, clamps over the top of the car and including a curtain, gates pivotally secured to and forming a part of said curtain, a drive shaft, a pinion mounted thereon, a rack meshing with said pinion and having its one end pivotally connected to said gate, and means for positively rotating said shaft to actuate said rack and control the degree of opening and closing of said gate to retard the material being discharged.

5. In a car dumper, the combination with a cradle adapted to support a car thereon, clamps disposed over the top of the car, a substantially fiat curtain secured thereto and including a gate hingedly connected thereto, a shaft, pinions mounted thereon, guide yokes straddling said pinions, a rack pivotally connected to said gate with its free end slidably mounted in said yoke and in engagement with said pinion, and a reversible motor operatively connected to said shaft for positively controlling the opening and closing of the gate when the shaft is driven,

ERNEST W. TAYLOR. 

